Donna Deegan

Donna Deegan
Donna Hazouri Deegan (born February 28, 1961) is an American politician serving as the 9th mayor of Jacksonville, Florida. A member of the Democratic Party, she was elected mayor in the 2023 election, defeating Republican Daniel Davis in the May 16 runoff election. She is the first woman to serve as the mayor of Jacksonville.
Deegan is also a published author, breast cancer awareness advocate, and former television anchor on First Coast News. Prior to her mayoral candidacy, Deegan had mounted a campaign for Florida's 4th congressional district in the 2020 election.
Early life and education
Deegan was born Donna Elizabeth Hazouri on February 28, 1961. She has Lebanese ancestry through her father. Deegan's great-great grandfather immigrated from Lebanon circa 1905. Deegan was raised on the south side of Jacksonville and graduated from Bishop Kenny High School in 1979.
She attended Florida State University and graduated in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in communications. She is the cousin of former Jacksonville mayor Tommy Hazouri, who served from 1987 to 1991.
Early career
Deegan started her career in 1984 as the morning anchor for WTXL-TV in Tallahassee. In 1985, she became the West Palm Bureau Chief for WTVX in Fort Pierce. She then became the morning and noon anchor for WPEC in West Palm Beach, where she remained until August 1988. She then took the opportunity to return to her native Jacksonville and became the anchor of the weekend broadcasts on WTLV. In 1993, she became anchor of the 5:30 and 11 p.m. newscasts on WTLV.
Deegan has received many awards during her career, including the Jacksonville Business Journal Women of Influence Award in 2004 and the Enterprising Women's Leadership Award in 2005. On October 25, 2007, she was honored by Community Connections of Jacksonville at the Omni Hotel. She is the 2007 recipient of the Florence N. Davis Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Breast cancer advocacy
Deegan is a three-time survivor of breast cancer. She was first diagnosed in 1999, with recurrences in 2002 and 2007. She is the founder of The Donna Foundation, which provides the necessary funds to care for local women living with breast cancer. Her book, The Good Fight, chronicles her second bout with breast cancer and the online journal that she kept during that time.
On September 19, 2007, Deegan stated that a CT scan showed a small "suspicious" lesion in her lower left lung. A PET scan confirmed the lesion was there, but nothing more was found anywhere in her body. Initially, doctors were uncertain if the lesion was indeed cancer. However, on September 21, 2007, after surgery to remove the lesion, it was confirmed that it was; she yet again went under treatment for cancer, including chemotherapy.
26.2 with Donna
On June 22, 2006, the Mayo Clinic and The Donna Foundation announced the inaugural run of the 26.2 with Donna: The National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer, benefiting Mayo Clinic and women living with breast cancer. The inaugural run of the marathon took place on February 17, 2008, and was co-organized by Edith A. Perez. A health expo preceded the race. She had been questioning whether she could run the whole marathon, but she and husband Tim finished in the middle. Over 7,000 runners showed up to run the race. Deegan announced that over $800,000 was raised to benefit the Mayo Clinic and women living with breast cancer. This money was used to help further a plan in which specialized treatment is used, instead of a "one size fits all" treatment.
2020 congressional campaign
Deegan declared her campaign for Florida's 4th congressional district in 2019. She ran as the Democratic challenger to Republican incumbent John Rutherford in the 2020 elections. She lost to Rutherford on November 3, 2020, receiving 38.9% of the vote. Her top priorities on the campaign trail were healthcare, climate change, and gun violence prevention. She slightly underperformed Joe Biden in her own district, losing by more than 22 points, compared to Biden's 21-point loss.
Mayor of Jacksonville
2023 election
Deegan ran for Jacksonville mayor in the 2023 election. In the nonpartisan blanket primary, she received 39% of the vote and advanced to a runoff election against Republican Daniel Davis, who received 25% in the primary. On April 3, 2023, Davis ran an attack ad against Deegan, claiming that she attended all the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Jacksonville after the 2020 murder of George Floyd. Deegan called the ad racially insensitive and responded that she did not plan to launch any attack ads against Davis.
Deegan defeated Davis in the runoff on May 16. She took office on July 1. At the time of her mayoral victory, Jacksonville was the most populous city in the United States to have a Republican mayor. Jacksonville, which is coterminous with Duval County, had trended towards the Democratic Party over the preceding years; in 2020, Joe Biden became the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the county since 1976.
Personal life
Deegan is a member of St. Paul's Catholic Church in Jacksonville Beach. Her maiden name is Hazouri and her first marriage was to Kevin Clewis in Tallahassee in 1983 (later divorced). She has two children from her second marriage to Action News Jax sports director, Dan Hicken. She later married First Coast News chief meteorologist Tim Deegan on August 9, 2002.
Electoral history
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center; background:#e9e9e9;"| Blanket primary election
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center; background:#e9e9e9;"| Runoff election
Publications
See also
List of first women mayors in the United States
List of mayors of the 50 largest cities in the United States
References
External links
Mayor Donna Deegan official government website
Donna Deegan for Mayor campaign website
The Donna Foundation
1961 births
21st-century American women politicians
21st-century American women journalists
21st-century American journalists
American politicians of Lebanese descent
American politicians of Syrian descent
American television journalists
American women television journalists
Bishop Kenny High School alumni
Candidates in the 2020 United States elections
Catholics from Florida
Florida Democrats
Florida State University alumni
Living people
Mayors of Jacksonville, Florida
Television anchors from Jacksonville, Florida
Women mayors of places in Florida
Writers from Jacksonville, Florida